Side dishes have become something that we argue about in my house. From who has to make it, to how long it’ll take while cooking the main meal – it usually ends up being a salad because nobody wants to do the extra work.

Luckily though, roasted broccoli is quickly becoming a staple here because of the simplicity of making it. It’s practically pre-heating your oven, seasoning some broccoli, and stuffing it in the oven for some fantastic hands-off flavors to develop. It doesn’t get much better than that! Not only is there subtle hints of lemon and acidity running through the broccoli, but the saltiness of the cheese and the spice of the chili flakes bring everything together as a whole. The natural sweetness of the broccoli shines in this, balancing everything to perfection and then some.

Oh, and guess what – it’s kid friendly too! You normally won’t see kids reaching over to a pile of broccoli and snatching a few pieces to snack on…well unless you’re in Hidden Valley where vegetables rule the world. But I had my niece and nephew over when I had made these, thinking they wouldn’t be touching a single green that stepped foot out of the kitchen and boy was I wrong! I actually got asked to make more! Surprising, I know, but if you’re having trouble with trying to serve your kids vegetables, give this simple recipe a try and see what happens – definitely worth a shot!

Yields 6 Servings of Lemon Roasted Spicy Broccoli

The Preparation

24 ounces broccoli, florets
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
3 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 medium lemon, juiced and zested

The Execution

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Lay broccoli florets onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

2. Season the broccoli with 1/4 Cup Olive Oil, 2 tbsp. Fresh Basil (Chopped), 3 tsp. Minced Garlic, 3/4 tsp. Kosher Salt, 1/2 tsp. Red Chili Flakes, Zest of 1/2 Lemon, and Juice of 1/2 Lemon.

3. Sprinkle 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese over the top of the broccoli and put into the oven for about 20-25 minutes.

4. Remove from the oven and serve – super simple, easy, and delicious!

This makes a total of 6 servings of Lemon Roasted Spicy Broccoli. Each serving comes out to be 148 calories, 11.1g fats, 5.6g net carbs, and 5g protein.

NUTRITION	CALORIES	FAT	CARBS	FIBER	NET CARBS	PROTEIN
24 ounce broccoli	238	2.8	48.9	22.5	26.4	16.2
1/3 cup parmesan cheese	142	9.4	1.4	0	1.4	12.7
1/4 cup olive oil	477	54	0	0	0	0
2 tablespoon fresh basil	1	0	0.1	0.1	0	0.1
3 teaspoon fresh garlic	13	0	2.8	0.2	2.6	0.5
— salt and pepper	0	0	0	0	0	0
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes	3	0.2	0.5	0.2	0.3	0.1
1/2 medium lemon	12	0.1	3.9	1.2	2.7	0.5
Totals	886	66.6	57.5	24.1	33.4	30.1
Per Serving (/6)	148	11.1	9.6	4	5.6	5